Transmission device for wringer rolls



P/larch 3, 1936. A, E

TRANSMISSION DEVICE FOR WRINGER ROLLS Filed Aug. 28, 1954 swi icker ZNVENTDR Patented Mar. 3, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE Willard A. Ricker, San Diego, Calif.

Application August 28,

4 Claims.

My invention relates to a washing machine wringer transmission consisting of a series of gears, which when set in motion by means of a clutch, gives the operator a choice of a high or low speed as desired.

One object of the invention is to enable the wringer to be operated at a high speed for small or' light garments, thus speeding up the wringing process. Secondly by the use of the clutch lever and clutch the low speed gears are engaged and the wringer rolls are then revolved at a slower speed; this speed is suitable for the wringing of very heavy garments or bedding such as blankets, enabling the operator to arrange the article so it will go through the rolls without putting unnecessary strain on the wringer. When wringing any article of wearing apparel which has buttons or metal hooks and buckles, the slow speed further enables the operator to arrange said buttons and metal so as to prevent them from being torn off or cutting into the rubber wringer rolls.

On the present type of wringer the above mentioned operations are accomplished after much starting and stopping of the wringer to enable the operator to arrange feeding the garments into the rolls properly.

In the present type of wringer even though the clutch is in neutral and the rolls motionless, the gears are in mesh and always turning. When the gears become worn or lack proper lubrication they cause an annoying grating and clicking sound at such time.

Another feature of my invention is the elimination of these sounds, as the driving gears employed by the present invention run free on the driving shaft, the power being transmitted to them by the clutch collar which moves on the driving shaft. The clutch collar is secured on the driving shaft by means of a key upon which the clutch is slidably mounted.

Another object of the invention is the provision of mechanism whereby a variable speed either in a forward or reverse direction may be obtained as desired and suitable to the size and particular construction of the various articles being wrung.

This arrangement is particularly desirable, for it is not infrequent that delicate garments being wrung injuriously wrap themselves about the rolls and a slow speed is desirable for the operator to employ while they are being unrolled, and thereby they are prevented from becoming mutilated or torn.

A further object of the invention is the provision of mechanism for maintaining a positive 1934, Serial No. 741,753

mesh of the operating parts with each other whether these parts be idling or power related.

A still further object is to provide for a wringer operating means, a better balanced and smoother running power driven mechanism.

Still further objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists of novel parts and combination of parts to be described hereinafter, all of which combine to produce an eflicient speed changing apparatus.

An embodiment of the invention as now reduced to practice is described inthe following specification and the broad scope thereof is pointed out in the subject matter claimed.

In the drawing- Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the power driving mechanism for operating the wringer rolls of a washing machine, some parts being broken away to disclose underlying structure and fragmentary portions of the washing machine and wringer attachment being shown operatively related to the driving mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Referring in detail to the above figures, 3 indicates the washing machine, 4 the wringer, and 5 the power transmitting mechanism which includes the novel transmission gearing more fully to be described hereinafter.

An upstanding driving shaft is shown consisting of a lower section 6 and an upper section 1, said upper section having a squared lower end portion 8 which fits slidably in a socket provided for it in the upper end of the shaft section 6 in order that the upper shaft section 1 may be so adjusted within the upper bearing member 9 that its circumferential groove II will, register with a set screw 12.

The lower shaft section 6, mounted in a suitable bearing sleeve l 4, has fixed to it a worm gear IS in mesh with a driving worm gear l6. Said gear I6 is fixed to a shaft ll. The latter shaft is operatively related to the motor shaft l8 by means of the pulleys l9 and 20 and the belt 2|.

The low speed gear 25 and high speed gear 26 are loosely mounted upon the section 1 of the driving shaft. A power transmission shaft 21 parallels the driving shaft. To the lower portion of said transmission shaft is secured a high speed gear 28 continuously in mesh with said gear 26, while farther up on shaft 21 there is secured to said shaft the low speed gear 29 which continuously meshes with gear 25.

On the shaft section 1, between gears 25 and 26 is slidably but non-rotatably mounted the clutch 30 having the usual groove-engaging block or fork 3| which is vertically shiftable by means of the shaft 32, eccentric collar 33 and operating handle 34. The high speed driving gear 26 has fixed to its upper face blocks 36 V with which cooperate the lower clutch teeth 31,

while the upper clutch teeth 38 may likewise cooperate with similar blocks formed upon the low speed driving gear 25. 7 Above its gear 29 the transmission shaft 21 has fixed thereto a bevel gear 40 meshable with the change direction gears 4| and 42 which are fixed to the wringer shaft 43. Said change speed gears are operated in a well known manner by the change speed mechanism 44 furnished with the operating handle 45. 7

When the clutch 30 is shifted upwardly to disengage it from the blocks 36 of gear 26 it will, by frictional contact, exert an upward pull upon said gear. In order to guard against this pull causing said gear to be moved upwardly and out of mesh with gear 28, the latter gear has secured to its upper face an annular guard plate 41 of suflicient external diameter to extend at all times over the adjacent side of the gear 26. Likewise the gear 29 has secured to its lower face an annular plate or disc 48 which extends under the adjacent edge of gear 25 to keep the latter gear from dropping below its proper operative position.

The power transmitting gearing, designated in a general way' by the numeral 5, is enclosed Within a housing 50 having an internal trans verse partition or cross'wall 5|. Saidwall is provided with an annular bearing boss 52 against which the gear 25 may contact to prevent its upward displacement while, as has already been stated, the part 48 of gear 29 prevents downward displacement of said gear 25. The upper bearing 55 of the transmission shaft'21 is also carried by the transverse wall 5|.

The machine is equipped'with a locking lever 59 which is pivoted at 60 t0 the housing 50 which cooperates with notches in the non-rotatable base member 6|. A plurality of notches 62 of said base member are shown, it being understood that any desired number of notches may be provided therein to cooperate with the heel portion 63 of lever 59. This construction makes it possible to rotate the housing 50 and wringer 4 carried thereby to a position wherein the wringer unobstructs the tub permitting free access thereto.

Owing to the fact that the driving shaft 1 is located near one side of the housing 50 and between the transmission shaft 21 and the wringer 4, the weight of the greater portion of the housing, and of the transmission shaft, together with the gears mounted thereon, tends to counterbalance the weight of the wringer 4.

The clutch 30 is provided with a sufficiently extensive vertical movement to permit of its engaging the slow speed gear 25 thereabove, or engaging the high speed gear 26 therebelow, or occupying a neutral position midway between said gears. When said clutch occupies the last mentioned position both the high speed gear and the low speed gear are loose on the driving shaft, and hence, not only is the wringer stopped, but

all the gears within the housing 5 remain in a stationary, noiseless condition.

I claim:

1. A wringer drive for washing machines including a vertical driving shaft, a housing revolvably mounted on said driving shaft, a wringer shaft journalled in said housing and extending across the upper end of said driving shaft, a wringer having a roll driven by said wringer shaft and arranged at one end of the wringer shaft, and gearing in the housing connecting the driving shaft with the wringer shaft at the end opposite the roll whereby said gearing and wringer act to counterbalance each other in all positions of the wringer about the driving shaft.

2. A wringer drive for washing machines including a vertical driving shaft, a housing revolubly mounted on said driving shaft and having an upward enlargement at one side of the shaft, a wringer shaft journalled in the upper end of said housing and extending across the upper end of the driving shaft, a wringer supported on the housing at the side of the driving shaft opposite said enlargement, and gearing in the housing and enlargement connecting the driving shaft and wringer shaft, said housing and gearing counterbalancing said wringer.

3. A wringer drive for washing machines including a vertical driving shaft, a wringer bracket rotatable about the axis of the driving shaft, a wringer carried by the bracket at one sideof the axis of the vertical driving shaft and having a horizontal shaft extending past the vertical driving shaft, and gearing carried by the bracket and connecting the vertical driving shaft to the wringer shaft, the gearing and the wringer being on opposite sides of the vertical shaft so as to at least partially counterbalance each other.

4. A wringer drive as described in claim 3 in which the gearing connecting the vertical drive shaft to the wringer shaft comprises a vertical intermediate shaft driven from the vertical drive shaft through change speed gearing mounted on the two vertical shafts.

WILLARD A. RICKER. 

